ACLU sues on S.C. immigration law

The American Civil Liberties Union and a coalition of civil rights groups filed a lawsuit against South Carolina’s tough immigration law on Wednesday, challenging the measure’s constitutionality and saying it invites racial profiling.

South Carolina’s law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, requires police to check the immigration status of anyone they stop or arrest if they suspect the person might be in the country illegally, and makes it a crime for anyone to transport or harbor an illegal immigrant.

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The lawsuit comes just two weeks after Alabama’s controversial immigration measure went into effect after the judge upheld the measure. The Justice Department is appealing the ruling, and filed an emergency request to halt enforcement last Friday.

In the complaint filing over the South Carolina law, the coalition argues that the new provisions mean state residents engaging in everyday activities could face criminal charges.

“South Carolinians who give a lift to a neighbor, a client, or fellow congregant, who invite a family member to visit from out of state or rent out a room to a friend, or who married a person without considering his or her immigration status, are subject to prosecution, fines, and incarceration,” the complaint states.

The law, the complaint states, will “subject South Carolinians — including U.S. citizens and noncitizens with permission from the federal government to remain in the United States — to unlawful interrogations, prolonged detentions, and arrests.”

The ACLU and civil rights groups also claim the law tramples on federal powers to deal with immigration matters. The law would create a statewide immigration enforcement unit within the state’s public safety department.

The class-action lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Charleston on Wednesday by a coalition including the ACLU, the ACLU of South Carolina, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Immigration Law Center, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, LatinoJustice PRLDEF and the law firms of Rosen, Rosen & Hagood and the Lloyd Law Firm.

“This lawsuit is the latest in our ongoing fight against these unconstitutional laws,” ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project attorney Andre Segura said in a statement. “In recent days, we have seen the destructive results of a similar law in Alabama, and the people of South Carolina should not face the same fate. This draconian law must be blocked, as it tramples our American values, interferes with federal laws and risks turning South Carolina into a police state.”

The Obama administration has previously said it is examining South Carolina’s law to decide whether to challenge the measure.